Observations from a Witness

Exodus & Deuteronomy

I woke up during the five o’clock hour in a petulant mood and tried to force myself back to sleep. I had an encounter yesterday with a person who was deceitful. Interestingly enough, even though the conversation took place on the phone, I could hear the fidgeting in her voice. I could sense her unease and her unsanitary excuses. There is no reason not to tell the truth, because eventually the truth comes out. And when a liar is exposed is can be very messy.

Lying is a very messy business. Because one lie leads to another lie to hide the first lie, then a third lie becomes necessary to account for the second and so on and so on. Eventually, the lies become so vivid that the liar may not be able to decipher the truth any more. Then people get hurt. Reputations become sullied. And the deceiver, when revealed, is discredited and hung out to dry. Thou shalt not lie.

When did lying become vogue? A little white lie won’t hurt. Sometimes you don’t need to tell the whole truth.

A lie is a lie is a lie. You can hide it. You can put a spin on it. You can be an excellent manipulator. But eventually the carousel will stop in its tracks and you will have a dozen wide eyed animals staring back at you in dismay.

The writing is on the tablets. The ninth commandment is all about lying. We are all guilty as charged.

Next time you walk to The Bus Stop and the temptation arises to tell a little white lie, or not tell the whole truth, look behind you. In your wake you will leave a lot of people confused, hurting or even brokenhearted. And the trail ahead of you will become disjointed until you no longer know which side of the road to walk on.

So choose the light. Choose the side of the road Jesus walks on. Hold His hand if you need a little guidance. And if you’ve been the victim of those little white lies, don’t forget to forgive the perpetrator. Then you can put the spin back into your life and hop, skip and jump freely once again!